Beauty Look | Everyday Fall Makeup Look

This is my go-to Makeup look. A perfectly neutral look for everyday. Yes I know, it is a lot of products to create a neutral look, but you can pick and choose what works for you. For me, I can do this look pretty fast and it does come across soft and diffused.

Take a look at the beauty product breakdown below:

FACE 

• Base: Giorgio Armani Face Crema Nuda 01 as a Base
• Foundation: Giorgio Armani Luminessence CC Cream Shade 6
• Blush: Giorgio Armani Blush 506
• Bronzer: Giorgio Armani 400
• Glow/Highlight: MAC Skinfinish in Candlelight

EYES 

• Crease: Coastal Scents 28 Shade Neutral Palette in Warm Brown
• Lids: MAC Coppering & Expensive Pink with Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks in Cocoa and Copper
• Liner: Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Liner + Eye Drama Pencil Liner
• Mascara: Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara

LIPS

• Lipstick: Giorgio Armani Rouge D'Armani 500

It's a fast look to put together! The Laura Mercier Caviar sticks are so easy to use and the products work beautifully together! Feel free to comment, share and try this look out yourself :)

Beauty Tip | Bright Eyes with a Pop of Colour!!

There is one rule to Makeup...Make your own rules! There are literally a million different ways to do the same look and the same goes for the different ways you can wear makeup.

What can be popular one season, is completely wrong the next season. There was a time where I would match my eye makeup to the outfit I was wearing. The look would be a mix of tone-on-tone shades, worn together with a very cool gradient effect. For added drama, I would wear it with a winged liner.

Lately, I have moved towards a bright pop of colour under the lower lash line, while keeping the eye look pretty neutral. This way I get the best of both worlds, a soft glam look with a pop of colour.

Here a few looks I have done this year where I used this pop of colour technique, check them out below:

1. Pop of Blue

• Used Neutral Beige, Gold and Brown for the Eyes
• Added light blue, turquoise and bright blue underneath
• Used Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer Palette

Courtesy of: Instagram/@MakeupBySand

2. Pop of Purple

• Soft Vanilla and brown shades created the look on the eyes
• Added a thin to thicker pop of purple underneath the lash line
• Used Vasanti Cosmetics Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in Purple Gem

Courtesy of: Instagram/@MakeupbySand

3. Pop of Green

• Beige, Vanilla, Gold and Soft Pink to the top lid plus added Drama with Ardell Lashes
• To add this pop, I mixed a few Green shades and smudged underneath
• Used Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer and Matte Palette

Courtesy of: Instagram/@MakeupbySand

Just some of my favourite looks with a pop of colour. It's so easy to do, you can use eye liners or shadows and create something thin and soft to super dramatic! Try it out for the next big night out :)

Fun Makeup | Halloween Inspired Skull Makeup Look

I have been waiting a loooooooooooooooong time to do this type of makeup look. I wanted to do something that was a bit more realistic and artistic. This was my first attempt and I am pretty happy how this turned out. Goes to show that you can continue to learn more about the art of Makeup!

Check out the pics and the makeup products I used to create this Skull Makeup Look!

The Products I used were:

• Annabelle White Eyeliner Pencil with White Shadow - Created outline, filled in the face 
• Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer & Vasanti Foundation #01 - Blended out the face and to blend
• QUO Liquid Liner & Maybelline Line Stiletto - Created Lines and Teeth
• Giorgio Armani Maestro Liner - Created Skull cracks and fine details for Teeth
• Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette - Using grey/black created shadows and dimension to the Skull

I hope you like this look and please feel free to share or comment below! This was so much fun to create and I will definitely be doing these more, at least 1 Special Look a month, so stay tuned!

Beauty Look | Fall Makeup Look featuring Laura Mercier Custom Contour Palette

I love Fall. Period. There is nothing nicer than the cooler weather to bring out the deeper tones and hues for Nature, Fashion and of course Makeup!

The Makeup look that I am sharing today is my go-to Fall look. This look can be worn on any skin tone. It's not super bold, which is why it's perfect to wear everyday. One product that I wanted to feature, that I recently got, is the Laura Mercier Custom Contour Palette. It gives a perfect yet soft contour. I have more details on the palette as well as the products used for this look below:

Eyes
Coastal Scents - 28 Neutral Palette (Warm Brown, Light Brown, Light Beige and Dark Prune)
Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks in Cocoa and Copper
Giorgio Armani Eye & Brow Maestro in Wedgewood/Dark Brown
Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara
Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Liner
Maybelline Eye Drama Pencil Liner

Lips
Giorgio Armani Lip Pencil #12 (Dark Burgundy)
Rouge D'Armani Lipstick in #500
Giorgio Armani Flash Lacquer Lipgloss in #107

Face
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in #6.25
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Warm Natural
Coastal Scents 10 Blush Palette - Warm Plum Tone
Laura Mercier Custom Contour Palette

The Laura Mercier Custom Contour palette is a great kit for anyone who wants a simple way to contour. You can use the shades to softly sculpt your cheeks and jawline. This palette can be filled with your own custom shades but is initially offered with the following tones:

1. Highlight #1 - Highlighter - Gives a glowing finish to the skin and to highlight
2. Contour Deep #2 - Deepest Contour - Sculpt into the hollows of the cheeks
3. Contour #1 - Medium Contour - Blend and use for a softer sculpted effect

For the look I did, I used the two contour shades together and paired with the blush. Be sure to check out this kit! The key to Fall makeup is using warm earthy shades on the eyes, glowing skin with a subtle contour and paired with plum/medium pink based lipstick. Try your own version of this look and you'll see why this is perfect for Fall.

Food | Green Chicken & Veg Soup Recipe via Clean & Delicious

I was recently sick and was on the hunt for recipes/foods that would help boost my immune system. In the colder months of Fall and Winter, I typically love to make soups because it's an easy way to make a large quantity of food ahead of time, it packs in ingredients that are lingering in the fridge and tastes great!

During my Googling and YouTubing, I came across this great Channel by Dani Spies who has this amazing food channel and website called Clean & Delicious. Once I saw her delicious sounding soup, it was exactly what I was looking for! (Just look at the title!):

Immunity Boosting Green Chicken + Veggie Soup - Clean&Delicious®. (Click to go to her YouTube)

I loved her video and how simple it was to make. The "Broth Booster" was my favourite part of the soup, which you will see below, and really added a nice warmth and heat to the soup.

@Clean_and_Delicious | www.http://cleananddelicious.com

I loved the fact that it was literally exactly what I was looking for! It has lots of veggies and of course good chicken broth, which helps you feel better when sick. Here is the recipe below:

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Small Onion - Chopped
• 2 Carrots - Chopped
• 2 Stalks of Celery - Chopped
• 3 Cloves of Chopped Garlic
• 1 Tsp. Ground Cumin
• 2 Tsp. Dried Oregano
• 12 Ounces of Shredded Rotisserie Chicken (2 Chicken Breasts) *Boil in Lemon Water to help shred
• 2 Small Zucchini - Chopped
• 1/2 Cup Frozen Corn
• 6 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Homemade Stock
• 1 Bunch Cilantro - Stemmed
• 1 Serrano Pepper (I wanted a lot of heat and used Green Chiles)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat Olive oil in a large pot and add in onions, pepper, carrots and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 mins. or until the veggies begin to look tender.

2. While veggies are cooking, blend cilantro, Serrano pepper, 1 clove of Garlic and 2 cups of broth in the blender. Once blended, set aside. (What I lovingly refer to as the "Broth Booster"!)

3. Once veggies are tender, season with cumin, oregano and a little more salt and pepper, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Add shredded chicken, zucchini, corn, remaining chicken broth and the cilantro broth you blended in the blender. Bring to a boil, reduce down and simmer for 10 more minutes or until your veggies are tender.

Pour yourself a bowl and savour every spoonful of this soup! This soup was so easy and it truly helped me get better. Here are my pics of the version I made:

If you are a soup lover or need to boost your immune system, definitely check out this delicious soup! Happy Cooking!

Coming Soon | Preview of Posts coming up on #BlogbySand

There are a lot of fun posts and things that I am working on and literally cooking up for the blog! So coming soon, here are few of the blog posts I am wrapping up:


Green Chicken & Veg Soup Recipe! (Click to see Post!)

I was recently sick and wanted to eat things to help me boost back my immune system.

This recipe is a gem! It's great when you are sick, or want to boost your immune system afterwards. This is also a great fall/winter soup recipe.

This soup incorporates a lot of great hearty vegetables, along with chicken and an amazing "broth booster" that you make from scratch!

It's delicious, warm, spicy and perfect for the cooler days ahead!

Laura Mercier Contour Kit!(Click to see Post!)

We have seen all the contour kits on the market with all the images on how to use them.

This baby here is a perfect Contour kit for anyone who wants an easy to use kit that gives a softer and subtle version of the famous contour.

I will showcase the product with a perfectly paired fall makeup look!

Creamy Butter Chicken Recipe!

Yummmmy! I can't wait to share this particular recipe.

It's creamy, the chicken is perfectly blended with the sauce and it's a very simple recipe that will impress anyone.

This is awesome paired with Rice or buttery fluffy naan aka naan bread.

I will be sharing both the Butter Chicken recipe plus the Indian Rice recipe as well. This dish will be sure to impress and soothe you on the colder days ahead!

All of the above posts and more makeup looks are coming soon! So please check back soon and happy reading!

Product Love | Maybelline Master Drama Eye Studio | Cream Pencil

My Eye liner series continues with the Maybelline Master Drama By EyeStudio - Cream Pencil in shade Midnight Master. I have never used just one eye liner product for my eyes. Different products offer different benefits for defining the eyes.

For the waterline, which is the inside of the lower lash line, you need an eye liner that will stay pigmented in colour and is long lasting, which can be a hard combination to find. This eye liner does it all!

Pros

• 16 Hour Wear
• Bold Pigment
• Oil-Free Creamy Application
• Ideal for Waterline
• Easily Smudges & Stays Put

Cons

• Creamy texture may be hard to work with, but once it glides it's good to go

I love that this liner LASTED all day. I happened to test it out on a regular day but I also enjoyed this liner recently at a family wedding I attended. From Start to finish, the eye liner did not budge, stayed bold and never faded! From mingling, through emotional speeches (yes I actually got teary eyed during the wedding) to dancing the night away, this eye liner did not move!

Here is a pic from that night, with me wearing that liner!

For years I have experimented with different eye liners in the various forms they come in. I highly encourage you to try different products and you will find what works for you. Be sure to check this liner out!